Real Names

Mick West

Administrator
Staff member
I'd like to encourage people to use their real names when participating on Metabunk. I think discussions are more likely to be taken seriously if people recognize they are talking to a real person - and people tend to be more polite when they are not hiding behind a pseudonym.

I know though that there are valid reasons for people to want to post anonymously. So I don't want to just start requiring real names. But I do want to encourage it. Possibly I could add a special user status (currently like "Member", "New Member", "Senior Member"), like "Verified Member" that indicates the person is using their real name, that they are not-anonymous.

That status could even come with particular minor benefits, like the right to use a sig, or to edit your posts for longer. Or even posting rights in the Metadebunking forum.

What do people think?
 
I'd like to encourage people to use their real names when participating on Metabunk. I think discussions are more likely to be taken seriously if people recognize they are talking to a real person - and people tend to be more polite when they are not hiding behind a pseudonym.

I know though that there are valid reasons for people to want to post anonymously. So I don't want to just start requiring real names. But I do want to encourage it. Possibly I could add a special user status (currently like "Member", "New Member", "Senior Member"), like "Verified Member" that indicates the person is using their real name, that they are not-anonymous.

That status could even come with particular minor benefits, like the right to use a sig, or to edit your posts for longer. Or even posting rights in the Metadebunking forum.

What do people think?
Some concerns about harassment via connecting posted name with home and family . . . we deal with some rather emotional and charged issues . . . are my fears not real?
 
I'd like to encourage people to use their real names when participating on Metabunk. I think discussions are more likely to be taken seriously if people recognize they are talking to a real person - and people tend to be more polite when they are not hiding behind a pseudonym.

I know though that there are valid reasons for people to want to post anonymously. So I don't want to just start requiring real names. But I do want to encourage it. Possibly I could add a special user status (currently like "Member", "New Member", "Senior Member"), like "Verified Member" that indicates the person is using their real name, that they are not-anonymous.

That status could even come with particular minor benefits, like the right to use a sig, or to edit your posts for longer. Or even posting rights in the Metadebunking forum.

What do people think?


I think it's a bad idea

People can search and find you physically with your full name, stalk you and ruin your identity over the internet (facebook, linkedin,etc..), it can get really nasty, and fast

There's many weirdos outhere

Besides, If your sources are good enough to support your claim, I really don't care if your nick is totalRetard

Now since you're administrator, you could make simple rules

Like no personal attacks for example
Personal attacks are just pointless in a debate, literally, and most of the hate come from there

Now there's two other thing that generate hate on forums...
But you won't like it...

Politics and religion
If personal attacks, religion and politics are not banned on a forum, there will be no peace, ever
It will always turn into a warzone
Now since it is a conspiracy forum...
You can't really ban politics and religions...



Now if ranking or whatever is based on real identity stuff... I'll just leave, because, IMO, we have already too much problems regarding privacy on the internet, there's no need to feed the monster
 
It doesnt matter to me . Anyone with half a brain can figure out who we are with Google ? Mick uses his real name and so does Jay . So why shouldnt the rest of us ? at least At least first names and locations would be nice ? JR bids I thought you were a dude for quite a while ?
 
I use my real name here - and the avatar is distinctive enough so you will know it is me on ATS too....
 
I disagree to this also.

In Germany, many conspirancy-theories are connected to right-wing organisations, and when they get want to get "rid" of some debunkers, they post everything they found about a name in their forums with the "hint" that all "should take care" for this Person.

A concrete case that really happens here in Germany about a Chemtrail-Debunker. One chemtrail-believer was so angry about him personality, that he searched in the net for anything he could find to draw this debunker in the dirt. He found a Picture of the Debunker with his daugter in his arms taken on the "Jugenweihe" (a popular ritual in East Germany, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendweihe ) and claimed, that this Debunker is a pedophile Child-abuser. The debunker complained about this, but this resulted only in deleting the defamatory postings.

The Internet and all the search-engines are a great tool to find connections, but it could be missused too easaly. Respect to all Persons going with her real names throug the net, but please respect and take care to the people who decided to be not public on the net.
 
I disagree to this also.

In Germany, many conspirancy-theories are connected to right-wing organisations, and when they get want to get "rid" of some debunkers, they post everything they found about a name in their forums with the "hint" that all "should take care" for this Person.

A concrete case that really happens here in Germany about a Chemtrail-Debunker. One chemtrail-believer was so angry about him personality, that he searched in the net for anything he could find to draw this debunker in the dirt. He found a Picture of the Debunker with his daugter in his arms taken on the "Jugenweihe" (a popular ritual in East Germany, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendweihe ) and claimed, that this Debunker is a pedophile Child-abuser. The debunker complained about this, but this resulted only in deleting the defamatory postings.

The Internet and all the search-engines are a great tool to find connections, but it could be missused too easaly. Respect to all Persons going with her real names throug the net, but please respect and take care to the people who decided to be not public on the net.
Here they tend to be left and right and middle wing :) I do understand however what you are saying . I still love a good conspiracy :)
 
A concrete case that really happens here in Germany about a Chemtrail-Debunker. One chemtrail-believer was so angry about him personality, that he searched in the net for anything he could find to draw this debunker in the dirt. He found a Picture of the Debunker with his daugter in his arms taken on the "Jugenweihe" (a popular ritual in East Germany, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendweihe ) and claimed, that this Debunker is a pedophile Child-abuser. The debunker complained about this, but this resulted only in deleting the defamatory postings.

The Internet and all the search-engines are a great tool to find connections, but it could be missused too easaly.

Absolutely.

I would not engage in anything that might risk exposing my family to people like these...

Sticky: Advocating violence against "Chemtrail" planes
 
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I use my real name here - and the avatar is distinctive enough so you will know it is me on ATS too....
Yep now we know Mike your real Identity . :)
 
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I'm certainly not thinking of requiring it. Just encouraging it. But I see many people are strongly against it, so I don't think I'll go far down that road.
 
I registered with the facebook sign in, but it's not my real name. I like to make up weird names. I've changed my facebook name several times.
 
I registered with the facebook sign in, but it's not my real name. I like to make up weird names. I've changed my facebook name several times.

I don't use my real name in FB for personal reasons but to be fair when I meet up with friends in real life they call me by my pseudonym. Good job I did not stick with Sir General Horatio Plankyspank the Third.

On a personal note I don't post on forums that require my real name. Mainly a 2 fold decision as I was working as a counsellor with offenders, but also I was cyberstalked over some forums for a number of years. It still goes on to some extent but mainly because I keep a low profile.

I disagree with your point about being more polite when not using a pseudonym. Certainly ny experiences on Facebook don't seem to back that up. I know for my part I post in a style that I talk in the real world.
 
I'm happy to use my real name - I just registered as a user and used a pseudonym. I would like to change my user name to my real name, if that's possible (but I couldn't see a way to do that). Any help would be appreciated.

Other than that - hello.
 
I can change user names easily. I recently changed "treasurecoastskywatch" to "joe" (his real name).

Just PM me with the real name you want to use.
 
And you can go half-way on this. Polkatronixx is now Adam, his real name, but still anonymous. GeorgeB, MikeC, Joe, are real names, but essentially anonymous. I'm just "Mick", and only "Mick West" in my "About me" bit of the profile.

Locations are also useful to give posts context, but again - not required.
 
I had been thinking over the issue of real names as I was considering attending some chemtrail meetings and I do feel transparency is the best thing. However I am looking at a staged return to forensic psychology and I have been advised to keep my internet profile low, especially in view of the clients I deal with. I must admit it makes me feel disingenuous at the very least. Mind you look what I could be missing out on. My very own page on Beforeitsnews just like Jay, Mick and Ross ;-)

http://beforeitsnews.com/chemtrails/2013/08/career-chemtrail-trolls-exposed-2431134.html
 
I do use my real name, at least a part of it. I must say that from my experiences during the BP oil spill discussions, that I do not blame anyone for not using there name. Personally, I have had my name and avatar stolen and used to post, profanity once and lies the second time. I have had my FB account reported as hacked, many times a day--there was about a week, where I had to 'prove myself' and change my PW there 4-5 times a day. My email was hacked during that same time also. All of that was in addition to threats, including death threats and harassing phone calls

Others had their families threatened, spouse's name and work numbers posted, in addition to the 'normal' threats. Several folks had anonymous packages documenting their 'work' sent to business associates and even the VA (one lady is disabled vet ((from an attempted rape by another American soldier)) ).
 
I'm not afraid.....I have nothing to hide.
My real name is "Randy Leifer".
I live in Los Angeles.
I am a Scenic Artist for the TV and film industry.
I went to art school, and have a graduate degree in that (MFA fine art, painting, 1986)
From the get-go my art started as posing .....the juxtaposition between science and religion.
Now I am painting a series of portraits of......machines and electronic parts.
Machines that revolutionized labor, and electronic parts that revolutionized data (computers).
I have an organic garden and grow orchids in a greenhouse.
That's who I am, in brief.

The reason I use the moniker "stupid".....is a hint that starting from stupid, there is always more to learn.
 
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NO NO NO NO NO!

Never ever expose personal information on the Internet. Never expose your name, etc. Never use your real email address when registering at a forum (make an new Yahoo mail account for each registration, it takes 33 seconds to do).

Consider how we track all of you once you visit a site.

We post a picture in a thread. This picture is located at one of our websites. As you read the thread you auto-load the picture and we see your IP address in our log files.

Game over.

  • Because you don't clear your browser history upon exit, we post cookies into your browser and our friends begin noticing you at other sites.
  • Because you do not follow best security practices, your computer is exposing vulnerabilities via this IP address, through which we gain absolute control over your computing infrastructure.
(I assume Mike will take the royal we in the intended spirit.)

Friends don't let friends get tracked.

As for imprismment (respect to Snowden), demand IPV6! It is encrypted end to end.
  • The conspiracy theorists would do well to ask why, if it has been a standard for over 15 years and built into all our operating systems for the last ten, is there a complete lack of will to roll it out.
 
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I'm not entirely clear what the intended spirit is there qed. However, for the paranoid: external images are locally rehosted, so no tracking or cookies via that.
 
I'm not entirely clear what the intended spirit is there qed. However, for the paranoid: external images are locally rehosted, so no tracking or cookies via that.
The spirit is friends don't let friends get hurt.

I think there exists at least one dangerous conspiracy theorist. While most of the "conspiracy theorists" on this site are sane rational people, not all are!!!!!

When following a thread I click on all sorts of weird sites!!!
 
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Never ever expose personal information on the Internet. Never expose your name, etc. Never use your real email address when registering at a forum.

While I do agree that exposing your personal information on the internet might not be the best thing ever, I don't see why people should be worried about tracking.

The data gathered will probably end up in some Excel spreadsheet with no reference to me whatsoever. And even if my name and IP were somewhere in there, I don't see how that's a problem, since I'm not doing anything illegal (at least not right now).
 
In my case, there's a chance that my employer would not appreciate me divulging information regarding the aircraft I fly. In many ways my anonymity allows me to open up more.
 
The people I might have to worry about are local, and they know who I am anyway. A friend or two has surfed the forum and mentioned that they appreciate a few of my comments. An acquaintance who is a big league blogger interviewed occasionally in the mainstream media said starting to use his real name was a key to gaining respect.
 
Since this is an international forum in may not be practical for some people to use their real names for political, career or mental heath reasons. For myself I go by the odd pseudonym "Bill" because no one takes me seriously when I go by my given name "Oswald, Lord of the Pussycats Jr.".
 
I originally took up the Alhazred name because an internet troll involved in the far-right movement had found my address and posted it when I was a more active member of the Anti-Fascist movement in Ireland and the UK. Nowadays, I keep it mostly to annoy Google who seem hell-bent on me using my real name, Cedric Scrungefuttock.
 
I have seen the damage just a name used on FB searched back and verified could do. Each clue lead to new clues and google streetveiw was very accomodating in telling where he lived.

Lots of interesting and way too personal info was found.

Thus I will risk a bit of credibility just in case someone decides they do not like me one day. I stay off all mainstream social media also as data mining and security breaches seem to be the order of the day.

As a former mod on another site I am well aware of how easy it is to trace a user back to a real person. I trust most site admins to never misuse this information but I also make it a point to not become a stone in his shoe.
No good ever comes of that.
 
Hmm, this is a good example of maybe... closing old threads? I saw the notification pop up in my feed that this topic was being discussed and came over to put in my opinion (No real names if the user wishes), but realized this thread is 5+ years old.

Hey Mick, can we close old threads to avoid zombie topics?
 
Hey Mick, can we close old threads to avoid zombie topics?

It's generally not a problem. Here the issue is still valid. Some older threads occasionally have new developments.

I do close old threads when they no longer conform to the new posting guidelines. But I don't want to to a blanket closing of 3,000 threads
 
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